Sugar, meet venom
ELLISE grew online out of the Bay Area, making dark-pop that pairs sweet hooks with a sly, eerie mood. She writes about messy feelings over glossy beats, and her vocal sits clear and close, like a whispered dare. Expect a set built around standouts like
911, plus fan staples
Pinky Promise,
Pray, and the moodier
Chaotic. The room usually skews teens through late-20s with a few older pop heads, dressed in thrifted lace, platform boots, and soft grunge makeup.
When sugar turns to smoke
A neat detail from her roots is how she edited early visuals herself, and she still favors short, spooky interludes to stitch songs together. Another subtle quirk is the breathy harmony stacks tucked under choruses to add bite without extra volume. Just to be clear, the song choices and production notes here come from patterns and could change on any given night.
Ellise's Micro-Scene
Candy-goth in the wild
The scene tilts candy-goth, with black lace gloves, pink ribbons, glossy lips, and eyeliner sharpened to a point. Fans trade makeup ideas outside and then trade choruses inside, especially yelling the 'call me' tag of
911 between songs. You will hear quick hushes before drops so phones can catch the hit, followed by a warm cheer when the bass lands.
Shared rituals, soft menace
Merch skews pastel-on-black tees, thorny-heart mini posters, and little accessories like mirror charms and safety-pin earrings. DIY pride shows in customized shirts and hand-written lyric sleeves, and nobody blinks at playful fangs or ribbon chokers. Older pop fans often hang back and nod while younger fans push forward to sing, and both groups stay to debrief lyrics and production touches. It reads like a small club for story-lovers who prefer hooks with shadows, and the room feels safe to be just a little dramatic.
How Ellise Builds the Sound
Hooks with teeth
ELLISE leans on a tight modern pop setup: drums and bass for punch, a guitarist moving from clean chime to fuzz, keys, and tasteful tracks. Her voice stays dry in verses so the words cut, then opens with echo in choruses to widen the room. Arrangements often drop the beat for half a chorus, letting her vocal carry tension before the kick returns.
Dark sheen, clear mix
She favors midtempo pacing, with one or two songs nudged faster onstage to lift energy without turning it into rock. Listen for low keyboard drones gluing sections together and for small ad-libs answering the main hook. On moodier cuts like
Pray, she sometimes goes a touch lower in key live to give her chest voice grit and make the hook hit heavier. Lighting leans saturated pinks and reds with crisp silhouettes, supporting the drama while keeping ears on the melodies.
Kindred Spirits for Ellise
Overlapping fan circles
Fans of
Mothica often cross over, since both blend confessional lyrics with glossy, moody pop.
Maggie-Lindemann brings a rock edge, and her crowd likes the same thorny romance themes that
ELLISE flips into dance-floor shadows.
Allie-X fits the bill for listeners who want stylized synth-pop with theatrical twists and sharp hooks.
Dark pop neighbors
If you lean heavier or more left-field,
Poppy offers a darker art-pop energy that still satisfies the need for a catchy chorus. All four acts value strong melodies, keen sound design, and shows that play with tension and release. They draw fans who sing every word yet perk up for the small production easter eggs between hits.
